Biden Says He’ll Give Answer On Court-Packing Before Election Based On Barrett Vote

Asked by George Stephanopoulos during an ABC News town hall whether there would be a delay in passing his tax plan, Biden replied “well I gotta get the votes,” stressing that he would seek bipartisan consensus for his priorities.

Biden quipped that he has a “strange notion” that the U.S. is a democracy – suggesting his view is an unpopular one in modern politics – and hit at both Republicans and “some of my Democratic friends” for proposing executive orders to circumvent Congress.

The statement comes as a rebuke of a tactic favored by both President Trump and former President Obama – Biden’s former running mate – as well as some of Biden’s Democratic primary opponents who suggested they would pass what they can through executive orders.

It also comes as a signal that Biden has not budged from his traditional views of governance amid a push within the Democratic ranks to enact major, norm-busting reforms like eliminating the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court.

Biden reiterated that he is “not a fan” of adding Supreme Court justices because it perpetuates a cycle of election-winners adding seats with no clear end, but he nonetheless said he is “open to considering” it.

Backtracking on his position that he wouldn’t state a position on court-packing before the election, Biden told Stephanopolous he would give a clear answer beforehand based on how Republicans handle Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination.